Can-capping machine



Aug. 5 1924.

J. M. FREDERICK CAN CAPPING MACHINE File'd Jap. 2e, 3 sheetssheet 1 Aug. s, 1924. 1,504,188

. J. M. FREDERICK GAN CAPPING MACHINE Filed Jan. 26. 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 5, 1924. 1,504,188

J. M. FREDERlcK CAN CAPPING MACHINE Filed Jan- 26. 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 practical manner. Y

Aand dispositionin Patented Aug. 5, 1924e entran starts LSMJS@ PATENT ortica.

JOSEPH M. EREnEErcK, OE BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, AssreNoE To POMPETAN ROMANZA CORPORATION, or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

cAN-cArrrNe MACHINE.

Application led January. 26, 1923. Serial No. 615,029.

To all whom it mag/concern.

Be it known that I, JOSEPH M. FREDERICK, citizen-ofthe UnitedStates, residing at Baln timore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain `new andl usefuly Improvements in Can-Capping Machines, of which the lfollowing is a speci'cation. y

This invention'frelates to can capping machines, and more `particularlyV to machines for crimpingftoa flangedopening in thecan a correspondingly flanged cap.

Hitherto the cap used to retain the conf tentsin the can and to exclude the atmosphere therefrom' was soldered tothe flange or upright shoulder of the opening info'ne face of the can. This'process of soldering proved expensive and impracticable in 'that it required two or three operations for the accomplishment of this ob] ect, which greatly added to the cost. Oneof the objects-'ofmy invention is, therefore, to provide a can clos-` ing or capping mechanism of simple and more practical `construction which produces in operation an air-tight ointand one which positivelyy retainsI the contents of the can ina `pure condition and unaffectedl by at- ,mosphere 'A further object is yto provide acapping machinewliich will Acrimp a cap `to a can wit-houtthel use Aofsolder, chemicals and the like.

A further object `is to'provide a can capping mechanism by which Vthe cap is crimped 'to 'the can lin one operation and with the least V"possible expense.

A lfurther object istog-provideV a simple, economical and labor-saving device to accomplish the ab'overesiilts in'an'efficientand The invention accordingly consists yin the features of construction, the combination of parts, and in the unique relation of the varivous members and therelative proportioning Vg thereof, all as mo'reolearly outlined herein.

To enable 'others skilledin the artto `fully comprehend theunderlying features thereof gin orderthat they may embody the. same, by

numerous'modiiications in structure and irelation contemplated bythis invention, drawings depicting a preferred form of the A1nvention'have lbeen annexed as partbf fthi-s disclosure and insuch drawings flikecharac ters of reference indicate' corresponding parts throughout all the views, ofwliichother fastening means by which' the base may be secured tothe floor. The standard 5 1sv provided with supporting means, such `as brackets 7, 8 vand 10, which are firmly heldin adjusted position yby set screws or the like. The supporting bracket 8 carries a short shaft 11 which is provided `at one end with a" power transmitting and reducing means, such asa worm 12. 'Positioned Yin the. brackets 7 and 8 is afstationary shaft 13, the same being flared `outwardly at its J lower extremity, as at lt.` The worm 12 meshes with a gear lwwhich, as is'seen from Figure 2, fis keyed at 16 to a cooperating sleeve 17. which yrotates about :the shaft 13 with saidpgear, and which is provided with a suitable bushing 18 in the bracket 8. A crimping head'19`is provided atits upper` extremity with an upstanding tubular por-l tion 20, preferably sweated to theV sleeve 17 upon its inner 1face.and has` a bushing21 of brass or other desirable," metal held to its Vouter V`face 1n fa similar manner. Suitable bearings"arejprovided asat22 and a ber washer 23 reduces friction between the'stationary and 'rotating members.

The shaft 13 may be held against rotation in the bracket 7 by fastening means, such as a set-screw, but is permitteda slight longitudinal motion, such movement being limited by a spring and collar 24. Suri rounding the bushing 21 isa sleeve 25 which is adapted to slip or move relatively on the outer face of this bushingand the lower portion of the adjacent bracket 8. The bushing 25 at'its lowerextremity is beveled as at 26 for the purpose hereinafter =mentioned.

Pivotedto the standard 5 is an operating handle27 held toV theV bushing 25 `by a' pin `28 operating in a slot 30. To insure auto- (Sil matic return, the operating handle is resiliently held normally in its uppermost position by suitable means, such as a bracket 31, stud 32, spring 33 and locking nuts 39.

The rotating head 19, previously referred to, is provided on one side with a slot or recess 34 in which is mounted a movable crimping arm 35. This crimping arm 35 is pivoted as at 36, and by means of a resiliently mounted screw 37 engaging a stud 38, the crimping arm 35, as will be seen, is permitted a resilient pivotal movement, as well as being normally held in retracted position. On the opposite side of the head 19 is positioned a weight 29 by which the inertia of the rotating members is balanced.

In the upper portion of the crimping arm is mounted a beveled wheel 40, which, by its association with the beveled portion 2o of the collar 25, constitutes a co-acting cam relation. At the lower extremity of this crimping arm 35 is a crimping wheel 41 beveled as at 42 to provide a crimping action with the flaring portion 14. 1t will thus be seen that by a downward movement of the operating handle 27, carrying with it the collar 25, the beveled portion 26 of the same will engage with the wheel 40 and thereby swing the crimping arm 35 about its pivotal center 36 to carry inwardly the wheel 41 into close proximity to the outwardly flared portion 14 of the shaft 13.

As `shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5 the crimping wheel 41 is so arranged in the arm 35 that whenV brought into proximityr with the flaring portion 14 for crimping action the beveled face is slightly off the vertical, whereby t-he crimping action is effected along the line of the lower and outermost portion of the beveled face to effect a substantial line contact crimping action between the crimping wheel andthe flared shaft. Thereby a. crimping action is produced only at the lower portions of the flared shaft and the crimping wheel as de fined by the term, substantial line contact.

Mounted in the base 6 is a movable table 43, which may be raised by operation of a foot lever 44 and a connecting link motion. In order to insure against rotation of the said movable table, guide fingers 45 are pro vided in the table 43, said guide fingers embracing the standard 5. The bracket 10 has a V-shaped portion 46, in the present construction, against which the cans, rectangular in cross-section, may be held. A different support would, of course, be used with cans of different form.

Power may be transmitted to the mechanism from any suitable source of power, for example, by a pulley 47, associated with the shaft 11.

Adjustments permitting the crimping of various thicknesses of caps is provided in the following manner: By screwing or unscrewing the locking nuts 39 the downward throw of the operating handle 27 is limited, and the consequent reciprocation of the collar 25 controlling the swing of the crimping arm 35 thro-ugh the coacting cam surfaces 25 and 26 results in the establishment of a greater or less distance between the wheel 41 and the flared portion 14. Various depths of cans may also be taken care of by raising or lowering the shaft 13 by adjustment of the fastening means in the bracket 7.

The operation of the machine is substann tially as follows:

A can, designated by the numeral 50, is placed upon the table 43 anda flanged cap 51 loosely positioned upon a flanged .opening 52 in the top face of the can, see Figure 3. By movement of the foot lever 44 the can is raised, the same being guided by the V- shaped arm 46, to the position in which the flared portion 14 of the shaft 13 ts into the capv 51, the shaft at this pointresiliently holding the cap and canwith the necessary degree of firmness, (Figure 4). Power is transmitted through the worm and gear 12 and 15, the sleeve 17 to the head 19, and the crimping arm 35, carrying the crimping wheel 41, receives a resulting rotation. Upon downward movement of the .hand lever 27 the crimping wheel 41 approaches the flanged cap, as shown in Fig ure 5, and, revolving abo-ut the stationary flaring portion 14 of the shaft 13, tightly crimps the cap 51 to the flanged portion 53 of the opening 52. It will kbe noted at this point that the crimping action takes place between the lower portion of the bevel 42 of the wheel 41 and the bottom portion of the flaring end 14 of the shaft 13.

This machine has proved highly efficient in use and operation and provides a positive air-tight seam. It has been found by experiment that although the side or bot tom seams of the can may rupture, the seam formed by this machine has been retained in perfect condition.y

It is thus seen that the present invention provides a simple and practical mechanism adapted to accomplish, among others, all of the objects and advantages herein stated.

Without further analysis the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of this invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting certain features that from the standpoint of the prior art fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

I claim:

l. In a can capping machine of the character described, in combination, a standard, a crimping device comprising brackets mounted o-n said standard, a non-rotatable shaft mounted in said brackets and having a flaring portion at the end thereof,. a `sleeve enveloping said shaft for a portion of its length, means whereby said sleeve is rotated, a rotatable head rigidly associated with said sleeve, a crimping` arm resilient-ly pivoted in said rotatable head, a crimping wheel mounted in said crimping arm, means adapted to bring said crimping wheel into close proximity with said flaring portion of said shaft, said means comprising a collar having a beveled portion at the end thereof,

an operating handle pivoted to said sta-ndard and associated with said colla-r, and a wheel mounted on said crimping arm and adapted to co-act. with said beveled portion of said collar, a table adapted to be up-I wardly moved, and means associated with one of said brackets holding a canin operative position, said non-rotatable shaft being resiliently mounted thereby to hold the can with the necessary degree of firmness.`

2. In a can capping machine of the character described, in combination, a standard, a crimping device comprising` brackets mounted on said standard, a non-rotatable shaft resiliently mounted in. said brackets and having a flaring portion at the end thereof, a sleeve enveloping said shaft for a portion of its length, means whereby said sleeve is rotated, a rotatable head rigidly associated with said sleeve, a crimping arm resiliently pivoted in said rotatable head, a crimping wheel mounted in said crimping arm, manually operable means adapted to bring said crimping wheel into close proximity with said flaring portion of said shaft to effect a substantial line-contact crimping action therebetween, said means comprising a collar having a beveled portion at the end thereof, an operating handle pivoted to said standard and associated with said collar, and a wheel mounted on said crimping arm and adapted to eo-act with said beveled portion of said collar upon downward movement of said handle, a longitudinally movable support adapted to raise a can into operative crimping position, and means associated with one of said brackets to maintain a can in said operative crimpng position.

3. In a can capping machine of the character described, in combination, a standard, a crimping device carried by brackets mounted on said standard, said crimping device comprising a non-rotatable shaft resiliently mounted in said brackets, and having a flaring port-ion at the end thereof, a sleeve enveloping said shaft for a port-ion of its length, means whereby said sleeve is rotated, a rotatable head having an annular upstanding portion surrounding said sleeve and fixed thereto and adapted to be rotated thereby, said head having a. longitudinal recess therein, a crimping arm resiliently pivoted in said recess, a single crimping wheel mounted in said crimping arm, manually operable means adapted to pivot said crimping arm thereby to bring said crimping wheel into close proximity with said flaring portion of said shaft to effect a substantial. line-co-ntact crimping act-ion therebetween, a longitudinally movable support adapted to raise a can in operative crimping position, and means associ-ated with one of said brackets to maintain the can in said operative crimping position.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 12th day of January, 1923.

JOSEPH M. FREDERICK. [Ls] lVitness:

HERMAN A. JOHN. 

